High temperature gas reforming cyclo-incinerator

ABSTRACT

A high temperature gas reforming cyclo-incinerator, using reformed water and strongly swirling inlet air in its interior to burn up wastes. The incinerator has a dust collecting structure designed to almost completely remove circulating dust and other harmful impurities from air strongly swirling in the incinerator and discharge clean air to the atmosphere. Internal and external lower tubs have substantially larger diameters than those of internal and external upper tubs, thus effectively burning up a large quantity of wastes at one time. The incinerator is also provided with a flow rate control fan unit separate from a main fan unit, thus controlling the amount of inlet air as desired and allowing a user to control the incineration rate of wastes in the incinerator.

RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates, in general, to high temperature gasreforming incinerators and, more particularly, to a high temperature gasreforming cyclo-incinerator, which has a dust collecting structuredesigned to almost completely remove circulating dust and other harmfulimpurities from air strongly swirling in the incinerator and dischargeclean air to the atmosphere, and the lower tubs of which havesubstantially larger diameters than those of the upper tubs, thuseffectively burning up a large quantity of wastes at one time, and whichis provided with a flow rate control fan unit separate from a main fanunit, thus controlling the amount of inlet air as desired and allowing auser to control the incineration rate of wastes in the incinerator.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Present-day cities generate a great quantity of wastes, such as domesticrefuse, garbage and industrial wastes, which are not recyclable and areprohibited from being buried, but are combustible. The disposal of suchwastes has been typically accomplished by incineration of them. In orderto incinerate such wastes, large-scale incineration equipments areinstalled at designated areas of the cities.

However, the conventional large-scale incineration equipments areproblematic in that they are accompanied by excessive costs forinstallation and operation of them, and generate exhaust gas laden withharmful substances, such as nitrogen oxides and dioxin, the contents ofwhich exceed allowable levels to severely contaminate atmospheric air.

In an effort to overcome the problems experienced in such conventionallarge-scale incineration equipments, the inventor of this inventionproposed “a gas reforming incinerator” as disclosed in Korean PatentLaid-open Publication No. 99-78939. The above gas reforming incineratorcomprises an external lower tub, which is formed as a cylindrical body,with a flange provided at each end of the cylindrical body. First andsecond combustion chambers are provided in the external lower tub. Thefirst combustion chamber has a combustion tub, which is provided with aflange at its lower end and an annular-shaped water supply pipe at itsupper end. The second combustion chamber has an air feed tub, which isprovided with both a flange at each end thereof and an air inlet hole atthe sidewall thereof. A sub-combustion tub is received in the air feedtub. The gas reforming incinerator also has an external upper tub, whichhas a flange at each end thereof and receives therein a dust collectingtub with a dust collecting means.

The above conventional gas reforming incinerator is a new type ofincinerator, which is preferably used for burning up a variety ofcombustible wastes, such as domestic refuses, waste plastics, wasterubber, waste food, waste tires, medical refuses, waste oil, andlivestock wastes, which are not recyclable. This gas reformingincinerator almost completely burns up the wastes through pyrolysisusing very high temperature heat of about 1,800° C., thus accomplishingcomplete combustion of the wastes without generating smoke or odor andthereby almost completely removing harmful gases, such as carbonmonoxides, nitrogen oxides, or sooty smoke, from its exhaust gas.

However, such a conventional gas reforming incinerator is problematic inthat it only allows inlet air to circulate in its interior for a shortperiod of time even though it has a complex structure for creating theinlet air circulation. In addition, this gas reforming incinerator isinferior in its heat shielding function, thus sometimes causing a userto unexpectedly be burned by heat dissipated from its external surface.Another problem of the conventional gas reforming incinerator resides inthat it is necessary to carry out complex processes to completely burnup incompletely burned wastes. Furthermore, the above incineratorundesirably discharges harmful dust along with exhaust gas to theatmosphere.

In an effort to overcome such problems experienced in the conventionalgas reforming incinerator, the inventor of this invention also proposed“a high temperature gas reforming cyclo-incinerator” as disclosed inKorean Patent Application No. 2000-58235. The above high temperature gasreforming cyclo-incinerator comprises an air cooling structure designedto strongly swirl inlet air in the incinerator prior to discharging theair from the incinerator, thus increasing circulation time of the inletair in the incinerator, and a heat shielding structure using a heatshielding plate designed to prevent heat dissipation from the externalsurface of the incinerator and protect a user from being burned bydissipated heat.

The high temperature gas reforming cyclo-incinerator also keeps a firealive until wastes in the incinerator are completely burned up, feedsfuel to completely incinerate incompletely burned wastes, and collectsand temporarily stores dust-laden air generated from the combustion ofthe wastes prior to filtering the air to remove dust from the air anddischarging clean air to the atmosphere.

However, such a conventional high temperature gas reformingcyclo-incinerator is problematic in that dust and other harmfulimpurities strongly swirl along with air strongly swirling along theinner surface of the incinerator during the operation of theincinerator, thus being discharged to the atmosphere through an exhaustpipe. In addition, it is difficult to control the flow rate of air intothe internal lower tub, so that the incineration rate of wastes in theincinerator is not easily controlled. Furthermore, it is impossible forthe incinerator to burn up a large quantity of wastes at one time, sothat a user of the incinerator is forced to frequently add smallquantities of wastes into the incinerator. The conventional hightemperature gas reforming cyclo-incinerator is thus inconvenient to theuser.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind theabove problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the presentinvention is to provide a high temperature gas reformingcyclo-incinerator, which has a dust collecting structure designed toalmost completely remove circulating dust and other harmful impuritiesfrom air strongly swirling in the incinerator and discharge clean air tothe atmosphere, and the lower tubs of which have substantially largerdiameters than those of the upper tubs, thus effectively burning up alarge quantity of wastes at one time, and which is provided with a flowrate control fan unit separate from a main fan unit, thus controllingthe amount of inlet air as desired and allowing a user to control theincineration rate of wastes in the incinerator.

In an aspect, the present invention provides a high temperature gasreforming cyclo-incinerator, comprising: a cylindrical internal exhausttub; an external exhaust tub axially receiving the internal exhaust tubtherein; an internal upper tub having a cylindrical tub body, with anexhaust pipe axially extending upward from the tub body, a shoulderformed at a lower end of the exhaust pipe and integrated with an upperend of the tub body into a single structure, and a plurality of exhaustports formed around the upper end of a sidewall of the tub body; anexternal upper tub connected at an upper end thereof to the externalexhaust tub, with an internal support rim formed in the external uppertub to seat a stop rim of the internal upper tub thereon; an externallower tub connected at an upper end thereof to a lower end of theexternal upper tub, with an external intake opening formed on a sidewallof the external lower tub and closed by an external intake door having awindow, an air inlet port formed on the sidewall of the external lowertub at a position opposite to the external intake opening, an externalash outlet opening formed at a lower portion of the external lower tuband closed by an ash outlet door, and a dust collecting port formed onthe lower portion of the external lower tub at a position opposite tothe ash outlet opening; and an internal lower tub received in theexternal lower tub and having an internal ash outlet opening at aposition aligned with the external ash outlet opening of the externallower tub, with a plurality of inlet ports formed at upper and lowerportions of the internal lower tub respectively connected to a reformedwater inlet pipe and first and second fuel inlet pipes, and a watercollector set in a lower portion of the internal lower tub, furthercomprising: an internal dust collecting tub opened at a top thereof andset in an upper portion of the internal upper tub such that a dustchamber is defined between the internal dust collecting tub and theinternal upper tub, with a plurality of dust collecting ports formed ona sidewall of the internal dust collecting tub, the internal dustcollecting tub being mounted at a lower edge thereof to an upper portionof an inner surface of the internal upper tub; a dust outlet port formedon a sidewall of the internal upper tub at a position corresponding to alower portion of the dust chamber defined between the internal dustcollecting tub and the internal upper tub, thus discharging dust fromthe dust chamber to the outside of the internal upper tub due to aswirling force of air; a dust outlet pipe connected to the dust outletport of the internal upper tub, and extending to the outside of theinternal upper tub; a locking port formed at a sidewall of the externalupper tub to hermetically support the dust outlet pipe; a dust guidepipe hermetically connected to the locking port of the external uppertub to downwardly guide dust discharged from the dust chamber throughthe dust outlet pipe; and a micro-dust collecting tub connected to thedust guide pipe so as to collect dust guided by the dust guide pipe.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a high temperature gasreforming cyclo-incinerator, comprising: a cylindrical internal exhausttub; an external exhaust tub axially receiving the internal exhaust tubtherein; an internal upper tub having a cylindrical tub body, with anexhaust pipe axially extending upward from the tub body, a shoulderformed at a lower end of the exhaust pipe and integrated with an upperend of the tub body into a single structure, and a plurality of exhaustports formed around the upper end of a sidewall of the tub body; anexternal upper tub connected at an upper end thereof to the externalexhaust tub, with an internal support rim formed in the external uppertub to seat a stop rim of the internal upper tub thereon; an externallower tub connected at an upper end thereof to a lower end of theexternal upper tub, with an external intake opening formed on a sidewallof the external lower tub and closed by an external intake door having awindow, an air inlet port formed on the sidewall of the external lowertub at a position opposite to the external intake opening, an externalash outlet opening formed at a lower portion of the external lower tuband closed by an ash outlet door, and a dust collecting port formed onthe lower portion of the external lower tub at a position opposite tothe ash outlet opening; and an internal lower tub received in theexternal lower tub and having an internal ash outlet opening at aposition aligned with the external ash outlet opening of the externallower tub, with a plurality of inlet ports formed at upper and lowerportions of the internal lower tub respectively connected to a reformedwater inlet pipe and first and second fuel inlet pipes, and a watercollector set in a lower portion of the internal lower tub, furthercomprising: a sealing member externally provided around a lower portionof a sidewall of the internal lower tub and mounted to a lower portionof the sidewall of the external lower tub, thus sealing a gap betweenthe internal lower tub and the external lower tub; a flow rate controlfan unit introducing external air into the external lower tub through afirst flow rate control port formed at the sidewall of the externallower tub; a plurality of second flow rate control ports formed at alower portion of the internal lower tub; and an air guide tub extendingoutwardly from a lower end of the internal lower tub and bent upward tosurround the lower portion of the internal lower tub at a positionoutside the second flow rate control ports, thus guiding external airfrom the first flow rate control port to the second flow rate controlports.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a high temperature gas reforming cyclo-incinerator in accordance with a primary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a right-side view of the incinerator according to the primaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the incinerator according to the primaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded sectional view of the incinerator according to theprimary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating an operation of the incineratoraccording to the primary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a partially sectioned plan view of the incinerator accordingto the primary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a high temperature gas reformingcyclo-incinerator in accordance with a second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view illustrating a micro-dust collecting tuband a circulating dust collecting tub of the incinerator in accordancewith another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged side sectional view illustrating aninternal lower tub of the incinerator in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged side sectional view illustrating a dustguide pipe of the incinerator in accordance with another embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference now should be made to the drawings, in which the samereference numerals are used throughout the different drawings todesignate the same or similar components.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a high temperature gas reformingcyclo-incinerator in accordance with a primary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a right-side view of the incinerator. FIG. 3 is a plan view ofthe incinerator. FIG. 4 is an exploded sectional view of theincinerator. FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating an operation of theincinerator. FIG. 6 is a partially sectioned plan view of theincinerator. FIG. 7 is a plan view of a high temperature gas reformingcyclo-incinerator in accordance with a second embodiment of the presentinvention.

As shown in the drawings, the high temperature gas reformingcyclo-incinerator “A” comprises an internal exhaust tub 190 and anexternal exhaust tub 180, which are used for exhausting combustion gasesfrom the incinerator to the atmosphere. The incinerator also has aninternal upper tub 160 and an external upper tub 150, which both serveto rapidly swirl combustion gases therein while centrifugally removingmicro-dust from the gases to discharge the collected dust to theoutside, and guide clean gases along with heat to the internal exhausttub 190 and the external exhaust tub 180 so as to exhaust the gas andheat to the atmosphere. The incinerator further includes an internallower tub 110 and an external lower tub 130, through both of which apassage is formed for allowing wastes to be put into the incinerator,define a combustion chamber for completely burning up the wastes usingappropriately controlled fuel and reformed water while creating rapidswirling flow of air therein and appropriately controlling the flow rateof air using a flow rate control fan unit 60, and from which ashes aredischarged to the outside of the incinerator.

The external exhaust tub 180 comprises a cylindrical body, which has askirt 182 at its lower end with a lower flange 184 formed along theoutside edge of the skirt 182. A first sensor fitting hole 186 is formedat the middle portion of the cylindrical sidewall of the externalexhaust tub 180, and receives an exhaust gas sensor holder 189 therein.

The internal exhaust tub 190 comprises a cylindrical body, which isprovided with a top flange 194 along its upper end. This internalexhaust tub 190 is axially received into the external exhaust tub 180until the top flange 194 is seated on the upper end of the externalexhaust tub 180. A plurality of exhaust ports 192 are formed around thecircumferential surface of the upper end of the internal exhaust tub190. A second sensor fitting hole 196 is formed at the middle portion ofthe cylindrical sidewall of the internal exhaust tub 190, and receivesthe inside end of the exhaust gas sensor holder 189.

The internal upper tub 160 has a cylindrical tub body 161, with anexhaust pipe 165 axially extending from the upper end of the tub body161 and an internal dust collecting tub 10 opened at its top and set inan upper portion of the tub body 161. A shoulder 164 is formed at thelower end of the exhaust pipe 165, and is integrated with the upper endof the cylindrical tub body 161 into a single structure.

A third sensor fitting hole 167 a is formed at the cylindrical sidewallof the internal upper tub 160, and receives a temperature sensor 167. Adust outlet port 32 is formed at the sidewall of the internal upper tub160 at a position diametrically opposite to the third sensor fittinghole 167 a.

A stop rim 162 is formed around the upper end of the tub body 161, whilea plurality of exhaust ports 163 are formed around the upper end of thesidewall of the tub body 161 at positions under the stop rim 162. A heatshielding plate 168 surrounds the upper portion of the tub body 161 at aposition under the stop rim 162.

The internal dust collecting tub 10 having a smaller diameter is set inthe upper portion of the tub body 161 having a larger diameter. A fourthsensor fitting hole 167 b is formed at a lower portion of thecylindrical sidewall of the internal dust collecting tub 10, andreceives the temperature sensor 167.

The external upper tub 150 comprises a cylindrical body, with an upperflange 154 externally formed at the upper end of the external upper tub150. The external upper tub 150 also has an internal support rim 152 forseating the stop rim 162 of the internal upper tub 160 thereon. Alocking port 34 is formed at the sidewall of the external upper tub 150and hermetically supports a dust outlet pipe 30. An upper end of thedust outlet pipe 30 is connected to the dust outlet port 32 of theinternal upper tub 160.

The dust outlet pipe 30 is connected at a lower end thereof to a dustguide pipe 36 at the locking port 34. The dust guide pipe 36 is alsoconnected to a micro-dust collecting tub 40 positioned at the base plate250 of the incinerator “A”, thus guiding micro-dust from the internaldust collecting tub 10 to the micro-dust collecting tub 40.

The external upper tub 150 has a skirt 156 at its lower end with a lowerflange 157 formed along the outside edge of the skirt 156.

The internal lower tub 110 comprises a cylindrical body, with aplurality of inlet ports 111 a, 111 b and 111 c formed at the upper andlower portions of the cylindrical sidewall of the internal lower tub110. An internal ash outlet opening 115 is formed at the lower portionof the internal lower tub 110, and is covered with a window 115 a. Aperforated plate 118, having a plurality of through holes 118 a, isfixedly mounted at the lower end of the internal lower tub 110 at aposition above a base plate 250.

An internal intake opening 170 is formed at the middle portion of theinternal lower tub 110. An internal intake door 171 having a transparentwindow 172 is rotatably mounted to the edge of the intake opening 170using hinges 174, and is openably locked to the internal lower tub 110using a locking member 176.

A water collector 114 is connected to the middle portion of the internallower tub 110. A plurality of water outlet ports 111 d are formed aroundthe cylindrical sidewall of the internal lower tub 110 at positionsunder the lower end of the water collector 114. The reformed waterintroduced into the internal lower tub 110 through the water outletports 111 d is decomposed into oxygen molecules and carbons in theinternal lower tub 110, thus allowing a complete combustion of wastes inthe incinerator.

A plurality of flow rate control ports 70 are formed around the lowerportion of the sidewall of the internal lower tub 110, while an airguide tub 80 extends outwardly from the lower end of the internal lowertub 110 and is bent upward to surround the lower portion of the internallower tub 110 at a position outside the control ports 70.

The perforated plate 118, having the through holes 118 a, is fixedlymounted at the lower end of the internal lower tub 110, while afirebrick stack 119 is formed at the lower portion inside the internallower tub 110 at a position between the control ports 70 and theperforated plate 118.

A band-shaped sealing member 50 is externally provided around thesidewall of the internal lower tub 110 having the water collector 114,thus sealing the gap between the internal lower tub 110 and the externallower tub 130 while allowing the through holes 118 a of the perforatedplate 118 mounted at the lower end of the internal lower tub 110 tocommunicate with the control ports 70.

The external lower tub 130 is fitted over the internal lower tub 110,and comprises an upper cylindrical body 136 and a lower cylindrical body131.

The upper body 136 of the external lower tub 130 has an air inlet port137 at the central portion of its cylindrical sidewall, with an externalintake opening 139 formed on the sidewall of the upper body 136 at aposition diametrically opposite to the air inlet port 137. An externalintake door 139 a having a transparent window 139 b is rotatably mountedto the edge of the external intake opening 139 using hinges 139 c, andis openably locked to the upper body 136 using a locking member 139 d. Aplurality of inlet ports 131 a and 131 b are formed at the upper portionof the cylindrical sidewall of the upper body 136.

The upper end of the lower body 131 of the external lower tub 130 isconnected to the lower end of the upper body 136, with an ash outletopening 133 formed at the lower portion of the lower body 131. Aslidable ash outlet door 134 having a window 134 a covers the ash outletopening 133, while an inlet port 131 c is formed at the upper portion ofthe cylindrical sidewall of the lower body 131.

A dust collecting port 132 is formed on the lower portion of the upperbody 136 of the external lower tub 130, and is connected to acirculating dust collecting tub 140 through a dust guide pipe.

A firebrick stack is formed at the lower portion inside the externallower tub 130, thus preventing an undesired dissipation of heat from theexternal lower tub 130 to the outside.

Two annular-shaped fuel inlet pipes 122 and 124 receive fuel from anexternal fuel tank (not shown), and spray the fuel through their nozzles122 b and 122 c at the upper and lower portions of the interior of theinternal lower tub 110 so as to accomplish complete combustion ofwastes. The two fuel inlet pipes 122 and 124 are fixedly set in theupper and lower portions inside the internal lower tub 110,respectively, and are commonly connected to the external fuel tank (notshown) through the inlet ports 111 b and 111 c of the internal lower tub110 and the inlet ports 131 b and 131 c of the external lower tub 130.In the present invention, it is preferable to use waste oil as the fuel.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged side sectional view illustrating aninternal lower tub of the incinerator in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention. In the present invention, the fuelinlet pipe 124 provided at the lower portion inside the internal lowertub 110 sprays waste oil through its nozzles 122 c to burn up wastes.However, in order to more effectively burn up wastes, the internalsurface of the sidewall of the internal lower tub 110 may be designedsuch that it has a structure capable of more effectively vaporizing thewaste oil. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of band-shapeddepressions 110 a and projections 110 b may be alternately andhorizontally formed around the internal surface of the sidewall of theinternal lower tub 110 at an area under the fuel inlet pipe 124 so as todelay the flow of waste oil which flows down along the internal surfaceof the internal lower tub 110 after being sprayed from the nozzles 122 cof the fuel inlet pipe 124. In such a case, waste oil, sprayed from thenozzles 122 c of the fuel inlet pipe 124, flows down along thealternately arranged depressions 110 a and projections 110 b on theinternal surface of the internal lower tub 110, and so the flow of thewaste oil is delayed. The waste oil in the internal lower tub 110 isthus more effectively vaporized, thus being almost completely burnt up.

An annular-shaped reformed water inlet pipe 120 receives reformed waterfrom an external reformed water tank (not shown), and sprays thereformed water through its nozzles 122 a at the upper portion of theinterior of the internal lower tub 110, thus accomplishing completecombustion of the wastes. The reformed water inlet pipe 120 is fixedlyset in the upper portion inside the internal lower tub 110, and isconnected to the external reformed water tank (not shown) through theinlet port 111 a of the internal lower tub 110 and the inlet port 131 aof the external lower tub 130.

A disc-shaped positioning plate 220, having a seating opening 222 at itscentral portion, is mounted to the lower end of the internal lower tub110. This positioning plate 220 also has a plurality of locking pieces224, which are formed on the lower surface of the plate 220 andpartially project into the opening 222.

A fire grate 210 is seated on the seating opening 222 of the positioningplate 220. This fire grate 210 comprises a disc-shaped body providedwith a plurality of through holes 212. A guide ring 216 isconcentrically mounted to the upper surface of the fire grate 210, whilea positioning pipe 214 is mounted to the center of the fire grate 210.

A flame stabilizer 200 is mounted to the upper surface of the fire grate210, and is used for maintaining the flame of the fire grate 210 for adesired lengthy period of time. This flame stabilizer 200 comprises anannular upper plate 208, with a plurality of support pipes 206vertically mounted along the edge of the lower surface of the upperplate 208. In the cylindrical space defined by the support pipes 206, adisc-shaped lower plate 204 is mounted to the middle portions of thesupport pipes 206 at its outside edge. A positioning piece 202 ismounted to the center of the lower surface of the lower plate 204. Thepositioning piece 202 is fitted into the positioning pipe 214 of thefire grate 210.

FIG. 6 is a partially sectioned plan view of the incinerator accordingto the primary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in thedrawing, an air guide pipe 62 extending from the flow rate control fanunit 60 is tangentially connected to a flow rate control port 64 formedat the cylindrical sidewall of the lower body 131 of the external lowertub 130. Therefore, external air fed from the control fan unit 60primarily passes through the gap between the internal lower tub 110 andthe air guide tub 80, and secondarily passes through the control ports70 formed at the lower portion of the internal lower tub 110 or thethrough holes 118 a of the perforated plate 118, thus being supplied tothe wastes laid on the disc-shaped positioning plate 220 while beingcontrolled in its flow rate. It is thus possible to control the amountof inlet air supplied to the wastes and to control the incineration rateof wastes in the incinerator, as desired.

In the incinerator of the present invention, the internal intake door171 and the external intake door 139 a are respectively hinged to theedges of the intake openings 170 and 139 of the internal lower tub 110and the external lower tub 130 using the hinges 174 and 139 c, and areopenably locked to the tubs 110 and 130 using the locking members 176and 139 d. Of course, the two intake openings 170 and 139 are alignedwith each other.

A support plate 136 a closes the lower end of the annular gap definedbetween the internal intake door 171 of the internal lower tub 110 andthe external intake door 139 a of the external lower tub 130, and soinput wastes are not dropped to the lower portion of the space betweenthe cylindrical tub bodies of the internal and external lower tubs 110and 130, but desirably slide into the interior of the internal lower tub110.

While burning up wastes in the external lower tub 130, heat generatedfrom the combustion of the wastes is dissipated to the outside by inletair, which is introduced into the external lower tub 130 through thecontrol port 64 and the air inlet port 137 by the suction forcegenerated from the control fan unit 60 and a main fan unit 137 ainstalled outside the external lower tub 130, and strongly swirls in theexternal lower tub 130.

The dust collecting port 132, formed at the external lower tub 130, isconnected to the circulating dust collecting tub 140 through the dustguide pipe, and guides dust from the incinerator “A” to the circulatingdust collecting tub 140 due to strong swirling force of the air in theexternal lower tub 130.

In such a case, it is preferred to connect the top of a lid 142 of thecirculating dust collecting tub 140 to a first end of a connecting pipe144. The second end of the connecting pipe 144 is connected to a housingof the main fan unit 137 a, thus guiding air filtered by an air filter146 to the interior of the incinerator “A”.

The above high temperature gas reforming cyclo-incinerator “A” of thepresent invention is operated as follows.

When it is desired to burn up, using the incinerator of this invention,a variety of combustible wastes, such as domestic refuses, wasteplastics, waste rubber, waste food, waste tires, medical refuses, wasteoil, and livestock wastes, which are not recyclable, a user opens theexternal intake door 139 a of the external lower tub 130 of theincinerator “A” installed on the base plate 250, thus opening theexternal intake opening 139. Thereafter, the user opens the internalintake door 171 of the internal lower tub 110, thus opening the internalintake opening 170.

In order to open the two doors 139a and 171, the user releases thelocking members 139 d and 176 and rotates the doors 139 a and 171 aroundthe hinges 139 c and 174.

After opening the two intake openings 139 and 170, the user inputs adesired quantity of wastes into the incinerator “A” through the twointake opening 139 and 170 such that the input wastes are stacked at aposition above the positioning plate 220, the fire grate 210 and theflame stabilizer 200 in the internal lower tub 110. Thereafter, theinput wastes are ignited using a manual igniter or an automatic igniter(not shown). After the ignition of the wastes, the two intake doors 171and 139 a are sequentially closed prior to locking the doors 171 and 139a using the locking members 176 and 139 d, thus completely closing thetwo intake openings 170 and 139.

In the high temperature gas reforming cyclo-incinerator “A” of thepresent invention, the internal lower tub 110 and the external lower tub130 are designed such that their diameters are substantially larger thanthose of the internal upper tub 160 and the external upper tub 150,different from a conventional high temperature gas reformingcyclo-incinerator. Therefore, it is possible to effectively burn up alarge quantity of wastes at one time in the incinerator “A” of thepresent invention.

After igniting the wastes and completely closing the two intake openings170 and 139, the user controls a control panel 230 of the incinerator“A” to turn on the main fan unit 137 a and the control fan unit 60, thusforcibly feeding external air into the incinerator “A” through the airinlet port 137 and the control port 64 while controlling the flow rateof air into the incinerator “A”, as desired. At the same time, apredetermined quantity of reformed water is fed from the externalreformed water tank (not shown) into the internal lower tub 110 throughthe nozzles 122 of the reformed water inlet pipe 120.

The reformed water, sprayed into the internal lower tub 110 from thenozzles 122 of the reformed water inlet pipe 120 set in the upperportion of the internal lower tub 110, greatly increases humidity insidethe incinerator “A”. In such a case, the external air having arelatively lower temperature than that of the reformed water rapidlyswirls around the external surface of the sidewall of the internal lowertub 110, and so reformed water drops are formed on the internal surfaceof the sidewall of the internal lower tub 110 and flow down saidinternal surface. The reformed water drops are thus decomposed intooxygen molecules and carbons while flowing down the internal surface ofthe sidewall of the internal lower tub 110.

When the reformed water flows to the lower portion of the internal lowertub 110, the reformed water is dropped onto the firebrick stack 119formed at the lower portion inside the internal lower tub 110. In such acase, the firebrick stack 119 is heated by radiant heat, and so a partof the reformed water is vaporized to generate steam and the steam flowsupward through the through holes 212 of the fire grate 210.

In the operation of the incinerator, external air is forcibly fed fromthe main fan unit 137 a into the internal lower tub 110 through the airinlet port 137 of the external lower tub 130. The external air stronglyswirls in the external lower tub 130 in a counterclockwise direction toform strong vortex flow since the air tangentially flows into theexternal lower tub 130. In such a case, a part of the inlet air swirlsupward to the external upper tub 150. The remaining part of the inletair swirls downward to the lower portion of the external lower tub 130,and is heated by high temperature heat, thus swirling upward to beintroduced into the internal upper tub 160 and the internal lower tub110.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a high temperature gas reformingcyclo-incinerator in accordance with a second embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in the drawing, two main fan units 137 a and 137 a′may be separately installed at an upper portion of the upper body 136 ofthe external lower tub 130 so as to increase the swirling force of theexternal air introduced into the internal lower tub 110. In such a case,the inlet air more rapidly swirls in the internal lower tub 110.

The inlet air, rapidly and continuously flowing into both the internalupper tub 160 and the internal lower tub 110 and counterclockwiseswirling in the two tubs 160 and 110, is mixed with the atomizedreformed water sprayed from the nozzles 122 of the water inlet pipe 120,and rapidly swirls counterclockwise in the gap between the externallower tub 130 and the internal upper tub 160 and in the spaces insidethe internal upper tub 160 and the internal lower tub 110.

The rapidly swirling inlet air, having a low temperature, is introducedinto the upper body 136 of the external lower tub 130, and rapidlyswirls in the gap between the external upper tub 150 and the internalupper tub 160 and in the gap between the external lower tub 130 and theinternal lower tub 110 while being heated to a high temperature.

The hot air rapidly swirls upward to the external upper tub 150, and isintroduced into the spaces inside the internal upper tub 160 and theinternal lower tub 110 so as to rapidly swirl upward in the spaces. Insuch a case, the hot air swirling upward in the internal upper tub 160comes into contact with the sidewall of the internal upper tub 160. Thesidewall of the internal upper tub 160 is cooled by the inlet air newlyfed from the main fan unit 137 a to the external surface of saidsidewall, and so the hot air inside the internal upper tub 160 is cooledby the sidewall of the internal upper tub 160 and becomes cool airflowing downward in the internal upper tub 160.

The cool air flowing downward in the internal upper tub 160 isintroduced into the internal lower tub 110, and is heated in theinternal lower tub 110 to become hot air. This hot air rapidly swirlsupward in the internal lower tub 110.

The inlet air, introduced into the incinerator “A”, thus repeatedlycirculates in the incinerator “A”.

During the incineration of wastes in the incinerator of the presentinvention, micro-dust laden in the air strongly swirling in the upperportion of the internal upper tub 160 is centrifugally discharged to adust chamber 20, which is defined between the internal dust collectingtub 10 and the internal upper tub 160, through a plurality of dustcollecting ports 12 formed on the sidewall of the internal dustcollecting unit 10, and is secondarily discharged from the dust chamber20 to the outside of the internal upper tub 160 through the dust outletpipe 30 connected to the dust outlet port 32 formed at the internalupper tub 160. The micro-dust discharged from the internal upper tub 160through the dust outlet pipe 30 is, thereafter, guided to the micro-dustcollecting tub 40 through the dust guide pipe 36, thus being collectedin the micro-dust collecting tub 40.

Therefore, combustion gases generated from the combustion of wastes inthe incinerator “A” repeatedly circulate in the incinerator for adesired lengthy period of time while being mixed with inlet air, and sothe combustion gases repeatedly come into contact with hot air of about1,800° C. in the incinerator to be almost completely decomposed throughpyrolysis. That is, the combustion gases are completely burned up, andexhaust gas from the incinerator is not likely to include harmful gases.

In addition, inlet air rapidly swirls in the gap between the externalupper tub 150 and the internal upper tub 160 and in the gap between theinternal lower tub 110 and the external lower tub 130. Therefore, theexternal surfaces of the sidewalls of both the external upper tub 150and the external lower tub 130 are not excessively heated, and so it ispossible to prevent a user from being burned even though the usertouches the external surfaces of the two external tubs 130 and 150.

A part of inlet air rapidly swirling in the gap between the externalupper tub 150 and the internal upper tub 160 is exhausted from theincinerator to the atmosphere as exhaust gas. In such a case, a part ofthe exhaust gas sequentially passes through the gap between the heatshielding plate 168 of the internal upper tub 160 and the upper portionof the tub body 161, the exhaust ports 163 formed at the upper end ofthe tub body 161, and the gap between the external surface of theexternal exhaust tub 180 and the internal surface of the internalexhaust tub 190 prior to being discharged to the atmosphere. Theremaining part of the exhaust gas sequentially passes through the gapbetween the external exhaust tub 180 and the internal exhaust tub 190and the exhaust ports 192 formed at the upper end of the internalexhaust tub 190 prior to being discharged to the atmosphere.

When burning up the wastes in the incinerator of the present invention,inlet air mixed with reformed water is fed into the internal lower tub110, and undergoes chemical reactions, that is, a pyrolytic reaction(reforming reaction) expressed by the reaction formula {C, H+H₂0→CO+H₂},and a combustion reaction expressed by the reaction formula{(CO+H₂)+O₂→CO₂+H₂O}, in the incinerator, thus supplying plentifuloxygen (O₂) to the flame in the internal lower tub 110. The temperatureof the flame of the wastes is thus increased to a very high point ofabout 1,800° C. at its center, thus accomplishing complete combustion ofthe wastes through pyrolysis.

Due to the pyrolysis, exhaust gas discharged from the incinerator of thepresent invention is not likely to include smoke, dust, and harmfulsubstances, such as CO, NO_(x), SO_(x) and dioxin. That is, duringincineration of wastes in the incinerator “A” of the present invention,thermal energy generated from the incineration vaporizes water andperforms destructive distillation in which solid organic materials aresubjected to pyrolysis to be divided into volatile materials andnonvolatile materials. In addition, inlet air rapidly and repeatedlyswirls upward and downward in the incinerator, and so combustion gasesare completely burned up in the incinerator before they are exhaustedfrom the incinerator to the atmosphere. Therefore, exhaust gasdischarged from the internal exhaust tub 190 of the incinerator is freefrom smoke, odor or color.

During the incineration of wastes in the incinerator of the presentinvention, dust-laden air is guided from the upper body 136 of theexternal lower tub 130 into the circulating dust collecting tub 140through the dust guide pipe connecting the dust collecting port 132 ofthe external lower tub 130 to the circulating dust collecting tub 140,and so dust is removed from the air before the air is discharged fromthe incinerator to the atmosphere. In such a case, the dust collectingport 132 is formed on the external lower tub 130 such that the port 132opens in a direction opposite to the swirling direction of the inlet airin the external lower tub 130. The dust-laden air rapidly swirls alongwith the inlet air in the external lower tub 130, prior to beingdischarged to the circulating dust collecting tub 140 through the dustcollecting port 132.

The air laden with dust, discharged from the external lower tub 130through the dust collecting port 132, is fed to the lower portion of thecirculating dust collecting tub 140. In the circulating dust collectingtub 140, heavy dust and impurities are collected in the lower portion ofthe dust collecting tub 140 around the dust guide pipe, and air isdischarged from the dust collecting tub 140 to the housing of the mainfan unit 137 a through the connecting pipe 144 extending from the lid142 of the dust collecting tub 140, after being filtered by the airfilter 146.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view illustrating a micro-dust collecting tuband a circulating dust collecting tub in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, themicro-dust collecting tub 40 is connected to the lower end of the dustguide pipe 36 such that the tub 40 may be disassembled from the at thelocking port 34, as desired, and is positioned at a side of the upperportion of the lower body 131 of the external lower tub 130 while beingspaced above the base plate 250. The lower end of the dust guide pipe 36is fixedly supported by the upper body 136 of the external lower tub130. The middle portion of the dust guide pipe 36 is preferablyfabricated using a flexible pipe since the dust guide pipe 36 must bebent at the middle portion.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged side sectional view illustrating a dustguide pipe of the incinerator in accordance with another embodiment ofthe present invention. As shown in the drawing, the upper end of thedust outlet pipe 30 is connected to the dust outlet port 32 of theinternal upper tub 160, and is integrated with the port 32 into a singlestructure through a welding process. The lower end of the dust outletpipe 30 is inserted into the upper end of the dust guide pipe 36.

In the embodiment of FIG. 10, the upper end of the dust guide pipe 36 isbent upward, and is inserted into the locking port 34 of the externalupper tub 150 while creating a clearance between the upper end of thedust guide pipe 36 and the dust outlet pipe 30. The above-mentionedclearance defined between the upper end of the dust guide pipe 36 andthe dust outlet pipe 30 is designed such that micro-dust is reliablyguided from the internal dust collecting tub 10 into the dust guide pipe36 even though the internal dust collecting tub 10 is displaced from itsoriginal position relative to the upper end of the dust guide pipe 36due to a thermal expansion of the internal upper tub 160 caused by heatgenerated from the combustion of wastes in the incinerator “A”.

In addition, the upper end of the dust guide pipe 36 is hermeticallyhoused in a casing 39, with a sealing member 37 installed around theupper end of the dust guide pipe 36 such that the sealing member 37 isbiased toward the locking port 34 of the external upper tub 150 by aspring 38 to close a gap between the locking port 34 and the dust guidepipe 36. It is thus possible to almost completely prevent a leakage ofdust from the locking port 34 of the external upper tub 150 to theatmosphere.

In addition, when it is desired to measure the components of the exhaustgas discharged from the incinerator “A” and/or the operationaltemperature of the incinerator, the user goes up on a measuring tower240 installed at a side of the incinerator “A”, and installs an exhaustgas sensor (not shown) in the exhaust gas sensor holder 189 set in thesensor fitting holes 186 and 196 and/or a temperature sensor 167 in thesensor fitting holes 167 a and 167 b. The user measures the componentsof the exhaust gas of the incinerator “A” using the exhaust gas sensor(not shown) so as to appropriately control the exhaust gas such that theharmful contents of the exhaust gas do not exceed allowable levels. Inaddition, the user appropriately controls the operating conditions ofthe incinerator “A” by checking the operating temperature of theincinerator using the temperature sensor 167.

During the incineration of wastes in the incinerator “A”, fuel may becontrollably sprayed onto the wastes from the nozzles 122 b and 122 c ofthe two fuel inlet pipes 122 and 124 set in the upper and lower portionsinside the internal lower tub 110 under the condition that flame fromthe burning of the wastes is continuously stabilized by the flamestabilizer 200. In addition, the flow rate of inlet air into theinternal lower tub 110 may be appropriately controlled using the controlfan unit 60. Therefore, it is possible to control the incineration rateof the wastes in the incinerator, as desired. In such a case, the userappropriately controls the spraying of fuel onto the wastes and/orappropriately controls the flow rate of inlet air to accomplish completecombustion of the wastes while viewing the interior of the internallower tub 110 through the window 134 a of the slidable ash outlet door134.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention provides a high temperaturegas reforming cyclo-incinerator used for burning up combustible wastes.The incinerator of the invention has an air cooling structure designedto strongly swirl inlet air in the incinerator prior to discharging theair from the incinerator, thus lengthening circulation time of the inletair in the incinerator. The incinerator also has a heat shieldingstructure using a heat shielding plate, designed to prevent heatdissipation from the external surface of the incinerator and protect auser from being burned by dissipated heat. This incinerator also keeps afire alive until wastes in the incinerator are completely burned up,feeds fuel to completely burn up incompletely burned wastes, andcollects and temporarily stores dust-laden air generated from thecombustion of the wastes prior to filtering the air to remove dust fromthe air and discharging clean air to the atmosphere. The incinerator ofthe present invention also has a dust collecting structure designed toalmost completely remove circulating dust and other harmful impuritiesfrom air strongly swirling in the incinerator and discharge clean air tothe atmosphere. The lower tubs of the incinerator have large diameterscapable of effectively burning up a large quantity of wastes at onetime, and are provided with a control fan unit separate from a main fanunit, thus controlling the amount of inlet air as desired and allowing auser to control the incineration rate of wastes in the incinerator.

1. A high temperature gas reforming cyclo-incinerator, comprising: acylindrical internal exhaust tub; an external exhaust tub axiallyreceiving the internal exhaust tub therein; an internal upper tub havinga cylindrical tub body, with an exhaust pipe axially extending upwardfrom said tub body, a shoulder formed at a lower end of said exhaustpipe and integrated with an upper end of the tub body into a singlestructure, and a plurality of exhaust ports formed around the upper endof a sidewall of said tub body; an external upper tub connected at anupper end thereof to the external exhaust tub, with an internal supportrim formed in said external upper tub to seat a stop rim of the internalupper tub thereon; an external lower tub connected at an upper endthereof to a lower end of said external upper tub, with an externalintake opening formed on a sidewall of the external lower tub and closedby an external intake door having a window, an air inlet port formed onthe sidewall of the external lower tub at a position opposite to theexternal intake opening, an external ash outlet opening formed at alower portion of the external lower tub and closed by an ash outletdoor, and a dust collecting port formed on the lower portion of theexternal lower tub at a position opposite to the ash outlet opening; andan internal lower tub received in said external lower tub and having aninternal ash outlet opening at a position aligned with the external ashoutlet opening of the external lower tub, with a plurality of inletports formed at upper and lower portions of the internal lower tubrespectively connected to a reformed water inlet pipe and first andsecond fuel inlet pipes, and a water collector set in a lower portion ofthe internal lower tub; an internal dust collecting tub opened at a topthereof and set in an upper portion of said internal upper tub such thata dust chamber is defined between the internal dust collecting tub andthe internal upper tub, with a plurality of dust collecting ports formedon a sidewall of said internal dust collecting tub, said internal dustcollecting tub being mounted at a lower edge thereof to an upper portionof an inner surface of said internal upper tub; a dust outlet portformed on a sidewall of said internal upper tub at a positioncorresponding to a lower portion of the dust chamber defined between theinternal dust collecting tub and the internal upper tub, thusdischarging dust from the dust chamber to the outside of the internalupper tub due to a swirling force of air; a dust outlet pipe connectedto the dust outlet port of the internal upper tub, and extending to theoutside of the internal upper tub; a locking port formed at a sidewallof the external upper tub to hermetically support said dust outlet pipe;a dust guide pipe hermetically connected to said locking port of theexternal upper tub to downwardly guide dust discharged from the dustchamber through the dust outlet pipe; and a micro-dust collecting tubconnected to the dust guide pipe so as to collect dust guided by thedust guide pipe.
 2. A high temperature gas reforming cyclo-incinerator,comprising: a cylindrical internal exhaust tub; an external exhaust tubaxially receiving the internal exhaust tub therein; an internal uppertub having a cylindrical tub body, with an exhaust pipe axiallyextending upward from said tub body, a shoulder formed at a lower end ofsaid exhaust pipe and integrated with an upper end of the tub body intoa single structure, and a plurality of exhaust ports formed around theupper end of a sidewall of said tub body; an external upper tubconnected at an upper end thereof to the external exhaust tub, with aninternal support rim formed in said external upper tub to seat a stoprim of the internal upper tub thereon; an external lower tub connectedat an upper end thereof to a lower end of said external upper tub, withan external intake opening formed on a sidewall of the external lowertub and closed by an external intake door having a window, an air inletport formed on the sidewall of the external lower tub at a positionopposite to the external intake opening, an external ash outlet openingformed at a lower portion of the external lower tub and closed by an ashoutlet door, and a dust collecting port formed on the lower portion ofthe external lower tub at a position opposite to the ash outlet opening;and an internal lower tub received in said external lower tub and havingan internal ash outlet opening at a position aligned with the externalash outlet opening of the external lower tub, with a plurality of inletports formed at upper and lower portions of the internal lower tubrespectively connected to a reformed water inlet pipe and first andsecond fuel inlet pipes, and a water collector set in a lower portion ofthe internal lower tub; a sealing member externally provided around alower portion of a sidewall of the internal lower tub and mounted to alower portion of the sidewall of the external lower tub, thus sealing agap between the internal lower tub and the external lower tub; a flowrate control fan unit introducing external air into the external lowertub through a first flow rate control port formed at the sidewall of theexternal lower tub; a plurality of second flow rate control ports formedat a lower portion of the internal lower tub; and an air guide tubextending outwardly from a lower end of the internal lower tub and bentupward to surround the lower portion of the internal lower tub at aposition outside the second flow rate control ports, thus guidingexternal air from the first flow rate control port to the second flowrate control ports.
 3. The high temperature gas reformingcyclo-incinerator according to claim 1, wherein said internal lower tuband said external lower tub have substantially larger diameters thanthose of the internal upper tub and the external upper tub,respectively, thus increasing waste incineration capacity of theincinerator to burn up a large quantity of wastes at one time.
 4. Thehigh temperature gas reforming cyclo-incinerator according to claim 1,wherein a plurality of band-shaped depressions and projections arealternately and horizontally formed around an internal surface of thesidewall of the internal lower tub at an area under the second fuelinlet pipe.
 5. The high temperature gas reforming cyclo-incineratoraccording to claim 3, wherein a plurality of band-shaped depressions andprojections are alternately and horizontally formed around an internalsurface of the sidewall of the internal lower tub at an area under thesecond fuel inlet pipe.
 6. The high temperature gas reformingcyclo-incinerator according to claim 2, wherein said internal lower tuband said external lower tub have substantially larger diameters thanthose of the internal upper tub and the external upper tub,respectively, thus increasing waste incineration capacity of theincinerator to burn up a large quantity of wastes at one time.
 7. Thehigh temperature gas reforming cyclo-incinerator according to claim 2,wherein a plurality of band-shaped depressions and projections arealternately and horizontally formed around an internal surface of thesidewall of the internal lower tub at an area under the second fuelinlet pipe.
 8. The high temperature gas reforming cyclo-incineratoraccording to claim 7, wherein a plurality of band-shaped depressions andprojections are alternately and horizontally formed around an internalsurface of the sidewall of the internal lower tub at an area under thesecond fuel inlet pipe.